Trail Monster Running

Visit the official TRAIL MONSTER RUNNING website for information on upcoming group runs, local trails, trail races and more, including the Pineland Farms Trail Running Festival and the Bradbury Mountain trail Running Series.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Back to my own running

Now that the Pineland Farms Trail Challenge is over it's time to refocus on my own running and get in some serious mileage in preparation for the VT 100 on July 19th and 20th. I love the fact that the race has two dates! Last year only 14 people finished on the same day they started.

In the weeks leading up to Pineland I was so busy and stressed with race preparation and hosting my in-laws that I didn't get many quality runs in. When I did find the time to get out for a run I just didn't seem to have the energy to put in many good miles. I should mention that Emma and both her parents were a big help with race duties including making the awards, marking the course, timing the races and cleaning up afterwards, as well as household chores like cooking and dishes. I should also give a shout out to all the people who volunteered to help with the race, it wouldn't have been possible without the contributions of the 80 or so people who stepped up to support this event and I know that the runners all appreciated it. I have been getting e-mails all week (in addition to dozens of comments immediately after the race) from happy runners saying how great the volunteer support was at the race. Thank you to everyone who helped make this year's race the most successful yet.

So after a day of rest on Monday I was determined to kick off what will be 6 weeks of pretty intense training. This will be followed by two very easy weeks right before my first attempt at running 100 miles. That's not to suggest that all my training is going to be done in 6 weeks. I had a terrific winter of long runs which built a very solid base, then a 50 miler in April followed by some more good long runs. Now I'm coming off of two weeks of a low mileage period in my training and am ready to step it back up again.

So far this week...

Tuesday:8.1 miles @ Twin Brook

Wednesday:10 miles @ Pineland

Thursday:9.1 miles @ Back Cove

This is already equal to my weekly total from last week and I haven't hit the weekend yet. I originally had on my schedule a 6 hour run for this Saturday, but recently found out about a lacrosse game that my nephew is playing in so I decided to break up my long run.

What's ahead...

Saturday Morning:10 miles @ Bradbury

Saturday Evening:20 miles @ somewhere

Sunday:15 miles @ somewhere

This will get me up over 70 miles for the week. This is high for me, but if it doesn't kill me it will make me stronger. I figure that this is the time to really push myself.